Samsung Is Finally Doing Something About Its Sick And Dying Worker Problem

Samsung apologized this week for doing nothing about sickened
workers in some of its factories, even though some of them died
from their illnesses.

In a statement
to the Yonhap news agency and other Korean publications at a
press conference, one of Samsung's CEOs (there are three)
Kwon Oh-hyun said a third-party agency will
determine how much money the families of the victims will get.

"Several workers at our production facilities suffered from
leukemia and other incurable diseases, which also led to some
deaths," he said. "We should have settled
the issue earlier, and we are deeply heartbroken that we failed
to do so and express our deep apology."

However,
Samsung did not say the conditions in its factories were directly
responsible for the illnesses and deaths.

There has been
increasing pressure on Samsung to address worker illnesses and
deaths. A new independent movie called "Another Promise," which
featured a fictional Samsung-like mega corporation, showed the
toll a worker's death has on a family and gained a lot of
attention after Samsung reportedly tried to limit
screenings.

Meanwhile,
Korean elected officials have been pressuring Samsung to respond
to working conditions in its factories.